Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI/KBWI), MD, USA

Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) is one of the fastest growing large airports in the USA. Construction work has had to be carefully organised so that the operation of the airport was not disrupted. Thus necessary activities such as road closures were scheduled for the night down-time period of the airport.

Improvements at the airport have included access roadway and bridge enhancements, skywalk improvements, vertical core circulation system improvements, work on the concourses, car parking improvements and improvements to the roadways. The total cost of all the airport's expansion projects is estimated at $1,800m.

The expansion of Baltimore-Washington International Airport is necessary because the levels of air traffic have increased dramatically over the past few years. From 19.74 million passengers in 2005 (only slightly up from 2000 figures at 19.6 million showing recovery after the terrorist attacks), the airport now expects to be handling 30 million by 2010.

A second reason for development is the economic impact of the airport. The airport authorities themselves put the possible revenue into billions. BWI airport services not just Maryland and Washington DC, but also the surrounding area. Maryland aviation officials have also said they expect to build a fifth runway, but they are still awaiting a recommendation from the Federal Aviation Administration.

SCHEDULE OF WORKS

Although much of the work has been completed, the project is not over yet. Spring 2004 saw the opening of the Concourse B skywalk with new elevators / escalators and also the opening of a new car park complete with 8,400 spaces.

Spring 2005 saw the opening of the new Concourse A with new gates, skywalk, food court and elevators / escalators. In Autumn 2005 the Concourse A/B connection was completed and opened.

Summer 2006 saw the terminal widening work completed with upgrades to the ticketing concourse and baggage claim areas. In Autumn 2006 the upper and lower level roadway widening will be complete.

The airport is also promoting a 'kind to the environment and health' scheme with a 12.5-mile scenic trail, which can be tackled on foot or on a bike that loops around the airport. The trail includes the Thomas A Dixon Jr aircraft observation area where hikers can view planes landing and taking off.

ROADWAY IMPROVEMENTS

The roadway improvements were designated to be carried out between 2001 and 2003 but are ongoing.

The total cost will reach $172m and the aim is to reduce congestion around the airport and make better use of the space available.

This has meant a series of new commercial vehicle lanes, added exits on the lower level, some skywalks and moving walkways, and a new terminal wall. The new terminal wall creates an internal circulation space in the baggage claiming hall.

The project to widen and extend the roads in front of the main terminal will cost $200m and will also include the erection of pedestrian bridges with moving sidewalks.

CONCOURSES A AND B

In Concourse A, a new 20-gate concourse has replaced the old three-gate concourse. The existing Concourse B has been reconstructed and modified to connect with the Concourse B extension. A number of moving walkways have also been installed in both concourses to aid passenger circulation around the new larger complex.

The construction on the concourses started in 2001; Concourse A was completed and opened by Spring 2005 and Concourse B during Spring 2004. The total cost of work on the concourses was $174m.

P. Flanigan and Sons Inc of Baltimore was responsible for the $45.8m main construction contract for Concourse A along with URS Corporation. The construction of the new concourses required an analysis of the original buildings because although the owners did not want to replicate the space frame of the original buildings they wanted the designers to make it look like it was the same for continuity and aesthetics.

The solution was a steel frame with lots of skylights to create light and a French fabric roof tent frame ceiling. The resulting structure gives the building a very translucent feeling.

CONCOURSE F

In Concourse F, the building plans envisaged the addition of four gates as well as ancillary works. Design started in 2000. It was completed by the Autumn of 2001. Construction took up 15 months, and the cost was estimated at $4m.

MOVING WALKWAYS AND ESCALATORS

Schindler Elevator Corporation of Beltsville was awarded a $10.4m contract to install 31 new escalators and 41 moving walkways for easier passenger access around the terminal complex.

PARKING IMPROVEMENTS

The parking project involved a series of improvements to be carried out between February 2001 and November 2003. The new Elm Road Parking Garage was equipped with smart technology to implement a pay and display system. The garage features the high-tech BWI Smart Park system.

Baltimore-Washington International is one of two US airports that have installed an electronic guidance system called Signal-Park (the other is in Jacksonville, Florida). BWI wired 4,900 spaces by 2001, and another 8,000 in 2004. By Summer 2006 passengers were able to reserve spaces in advance. The cost of the project was about $328m.

Another recent improvement to the airport parking system is the free 'cell phone lot'. Here people picking up passengers can park until they are called by the passenger instead of circling the airport and causing congestion.

CAR RENTAL FACILITY

The new $134.8m Consolidated Rental Car Facility, with space for ten car rental companies, opened in December 2003. Located on a 100ac site west of the airport, it opened significant space on the lower level of the BWI terminal building for other customer service needs. Moving the rental car operations to its own facility also freed up more than 1,000 prime parking spaces in the existing hourly garage.

OWNERSHIP

Baltimore-Washington International Airport is owned by the State of Maryland. It is administered through the Maryland Aviation Administration. This has some effect on the airport's procurement, as it generally seeks to source goods and services from Maryland companies. It also means that the airport seeks to help ethnic minority owned businesses.